Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 4, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following:“2. The Central Bank shall inform Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann of the total costs arising from an Inquiry conducted under this Act at the end of each month. The notification shall show separately the expenses of members of the Oireachtas, legal expenses, accommodation and office expenses, administration expenses, and all other expenses in excess of €500 monthly. The costs shall be audited monthly by the Comptroller and Auditor General.”.

The spirit of this amendment has already been covered by the Minister when he referred to publishing the running costs under various headings. I wrote this amendment having read that a previous inquiry cost €159 million but which, according to Paul Cullen of The Irish Times, accomplished remarkably little. I agree with the Minister that publishing the running costs may stop them getting out of control. There was a fear that because the Central Bank prints money and members of the legal profession know that, they would have been especially demanding. We are all aware that the running up of enormous costs that happened in the past cannot be tolerated in current circumstances, particularly given the difficulties in our public finances. I will not press the amendment and I thank the Minister for raising the issue of keeping running costs down. If they are published regularly, that will give us an idea of whether they are getting out of control and in what categories. It is the legal category that seems most likely to get out of control.